February 2016

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

www.cops.usdoj.gov

August 2017

 Fact Sheet

FY2017 COPS Hiring Program School 

Resource Officer Mandatory Training 

Overview

The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

(COPS Office) is committed to ensuring student success 

in supportive, safe environments by providing a variety 

of resources, including award funding, to deploy School 

Resource Officers (SRO). The fiscal year (FY) 2017 COPS 

Hiring Program (CHP) includes awards for agencies to 

deploy SROs to school districts across the country. 

To ensure COPS Office–funded SROs have the resources 

and knowledge necessary for their position, the COPS 

Office enacted a new FY 2017 CHP training requirement. 

All SRO officers funded by FY 2017 CHP awards are 

required to attend the Basic School Resource Officer Course 

conducted by the National Association of School Resource 

Officers (NASRO) as part of their training. To support this 

requirement, the COPS Office will pay the training fee 

directly to NASRO and NASRO will reimburse allowable 

travel costs up to $1,000 per CHP-funded SRO to the law 

enforcement agency. 

Award Condition

All COPS-funded SRO(s) are required to complete 

a National Association of School Resource Officers 

(NASRO) basic training course no later than nine months 

after the date shown on the award congratulatory letter. 

If a COPS-funded SRO leaves the recipient agency after 

completing the NASRO training, the recipient agrees 

to pay for the new SRO, who is assigned to backfill this 

position, to attend a NASRO basic training course. This 

new SRO must complete the training no later than nine 

months after being placed in the schools.

How to Receive Funding

All agencies funding SROs through a FY 2017 CHP 

award will receive information about the SRO training 

requirement in their award terms and conditions, as well as 

in the CHP Award Owner’s Manual (AOM). The COPS 

Office requires that law enforcement agencies and schools 

first develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to 

clearly document the roles, responsibilities, and expectations 

of the individuals and partners involved, including SROs, 

school officials, law enforcement, education departments, 

students, and parents. The MOU must be submitted within 

90 days of the date shown on the award congratulatory 

letter. The CHP MOU Fact Sheet describing the contents 

of this MOU can be found on the COPS Office website 

at http://cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/2017AwardDocs/chp/2017_

CHP_MOU_FactSheet_v4.pdf.

After an SRO is selected for the COPS Office–funded 

position, the agency should register for training on the 

NASRO website (https://nasro.org/training/) and note in 

the comments section that the position is funded by an FY 

2017 CHP award. The agency should use GSA per diem 

rates to determine travel expenses and reimbursement 

standards. Information can be found at the GSA website 

(https://www.gsa.gov/perdiem). All costs must be reasonable 

and fiscally responsible. NASRO staff can provide assistance 

in determining travel expenses, including transportation, 

hotel, and M&IE for each officer. After the course is 

successfully completed, the agency must submit itemized 

expenses to NASRO for reimbursement within 30 days 

and retain the documentation for three years. The SRO or 

agency representative should email a copy of the NASRO 

Basic School Resource Officer Course certificate to 

COPS-SRO@usdoj.gov.
2

2017 COPS Hiring Program School Resource Officer Mandatory Training

If the COPS Office–funded SRO previously completed 

the NASRO Basic School Resource Officer Course within 

the last 12 months, the recipient should contact the 

COPS Office Response Center by phone at 800-421-6770 

or by email at AskCopsRC@usdoj.gov and provide the 

location and date of the training, so that the COPS Office 

can confirm with NASRO and determine if the training 

requirement has been satisfied.

About NASRO

NASRO is an organization for school-based law 

enforcement officers, school administrators, and school 

security and safety professionals working as partners to 

protect students, school faculty and staff, and the schools 

they attend. NASRO is a not-for-profit organization 

founded in 1991 that assists communities and school 

districts to develop effective programs that further highfunctioning community partnerships and ultimately 

result in safer schools. NASRO’s training focuses on the 

special nature of school campuses, student needs and 

characteristics, and the educational and custodial interests 

of school personnel. 

Basic School Resource Officer Course

This is a 40-hour block of instruction designed for school 

administrators and any law enforcement officer with 

two years or less experience working in an educational 

environment. The course emphasizes three main areas of 

instruction: 

1. Functioning as a police officer in the school setting

2. Working as a resource and problem solver

3. Developing teaching skills

Contact the COPS Office

For more information about CHP, please call the COPS 

Office Response Center at 800-421-6770, or visit the 

COPS Office website at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Supporting safe schools

The COPS Office is committed to supporting safe schools—

places where students can learn and teachers can educate—by 

providing a variety of resources, including award funds, to help 

deploy SROs. http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/supportingsafeschools

National Association of School Resource Officers

The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) 

is dedicated to making schools and children safer by providing 

the highest quality training to school-based law enforcement 

officers. https://nasro.org/

School Discipline Consensus Report

The School Discipline Consensus Report is a comprehensive 

set of consensus-based and field-driven recommendations 

for improving learning conditions for all students and educators, better supporting students with behavioral needs, 

improving police-schools partnerships, and keeping students 

out of the juvenile justice system for minor offenses. 

https://csgjusticecenter.org/youth/school-disciplineconsensus-report/

Youth.gov

Youth.gov provides information to create, maintain, and 

strengthen effective youth programs. Developed by 

representatives from 19 federal agencies, these programs 

and services focus on youth by promoting positive, 

healthy outcomes for children, teens, and young adults. 

http://youth.gov/

Averted School Violence

The Averted School Violence Near Miss reporting system allows 

law enforcement officers, school personnel, and mental health 

professionals to share averted school violence stories in order 

to improve safety and prevent future injuries and fatalities in 

educational institutions from elementary school through higher 

education. https://www.asvnearmiss.org/